Why Can CuInSe2 Be Readily Equilibrium-Doped n-type but the Wider-Gap CuGaSe2 Cannot?

Yu Jun Zhao, Clas Persson, Stephan Lany, Alex Zunger

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73 Scopus Citations

Abstract

The wider-gap members of a semiconductor series such as diamond→Si→Ge or AlN→GaN→InN often cannot be doped n -type at equilibrium. We study theoretically if this is the case in the chalcopyrite family CuGaSe2 → CuInSe2, finding that: (i) Bulk CuInSe2 (CIS, Eg =1.04 eV) can be doped at equilibrium n -type either by Cd or Cl, but bulk CuGaSe2 (CGS, Eg =1.68 eV) cannot; (ii) result (i) is primarily because the Cu-vacancy pins the Fermi level in CGS farther below the conduction band minimum than it does in CIS, as explained by the "doping limit rule;" (iii) Cd doping is better than Cl doping, in that CdCu yields in CIS a higher net donor concentration than ClSe; and (iv) in general, the system shows massive compensation of acceptors (CdIII, VCu) and donors (ClSe, CdCu, InCu).

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)5860-5862
Number of pages3
JournalApplied Physics Letters
Volume85
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - 2004

NREL Publication Number

  • NREL/JA-590-37863

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